Identity of drowned victims ascertained

KUALA LUMPUR: The identity of the bodies of two of the victims who drowned while fishing at a river near the Sungai Buloh Camp yesterday have been ascertained.
Sungai Buloh district police chief Supt S. Somu said the first body was that of Hashir, 38, and Indonesian, while the other was Jamaluddin Rapawi,14.
He said three more bodies had yet to be found and they were Jamaluddin's father, identified as Rapawi Jum'ada, 37, Jaleha Hashim, 48, Silawati Zailan, whose age could not be ascertained.
"Post mortem on the bodies will be conducted today at the Sungai Buloh Hospital and then handed over to their next-of kin," he told reporters here today.
He said the incident at the river was the first since 2013 and a notice advising the public against fishing in the area would be put up.
Meanwhile, the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the three remaining victims has been expanded to up to 20 kilometres from where they were believed to have been swept away by the current.
Selangor Fire and Rescue director Azmi Osman said more the 70 firemen, including from the Kuala Selangor station, as well as the police and members of the Civil Defence Force, were involved in the SAR operation today.
He said the Fire and Rescue Department Tracker Dog Unit (K9) and the diving team were also involved in the SAR operation.
He advised the public against conducting water activities at rivers or irrigation canals, adding that 12 people had been reported drowned since Jan this year in Selangor .
Ten of them drowned while conducting activities at the river, and two others, at the irrigation canal, he said. — Bernama